Headlines (Campus Updates)

Wilfrid Laurier University has appointed Ben Yang, one of Canada's premier experts on internationalization and inter-cultural competency development in higher education, to the position of director of global engagement.

In this position, Yang will lead the implementation of Laurier’s global engagement strategy, including international student support, Laurier English and Academic Foundation (LEAF) programs, academic mobility, international@home and inter-cultural competency development programs.

“From the outset we have envisioned a global engagement strategy that surpasses standard internationalization efforts,” said Tom Buckley, assistant vice-president: academic services. “Ben brings a unique combination of experience and education that will further enhance our ability to realize these goals. I am thrilled to have one of Canada's top international education professionals joining Laurier.”

Most recently, Yang served as the executive director of international recruitment and partnerships at Georgian College, where total international student enrolment nearly doubled under his tenure. He also served as the director of the International Student Centre (ISC) at the University of Toronto. Yang has been an instructor at the International Educator Training Program Summer Institute at Queen’s University for the past decade.

Yang has served on the board of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and also served as the chair of the bureau’s Immigration Advisory Committee. He received CBIE’s Internationalization Leadership Award in 2010.

Yang holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Beijing Normal University in China and a Master of Education degree in educational administration from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto.